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The Brown and White Vol. 133 No. 9 Friday, October 6, 2017 ‘All the Lehigh News First’ Lehigh engineers create prison algorithm Students volunteer to clean up South Side By MADISON PETERSON-PORTA B&W Staff Lehigh engineering profes-sors and students worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to create an algorithm that saves Pennsylvania taxpayers $3 million per year. The project started five years ago when Dan Li, ’11G, a second-year doctorate student, interned with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Li started the proj-ect after her internship to create a more efficient way of assigning inmates to correctional facilities. The systematic approach takes into account various factors of opti-mization to create an algorithm, which with a few keystrokes and a couple of seconds does the work that used to take seven men one week. Since then, the algorithm has been improved by three professors and four graduate and doctoral stu-dents. The algorithm will be com-pleted in the spring of 2018, though it has been in operation since December 2016 in Pennsylvania’s Camp Hill correctional institution. The algorithm will be recognized by the Pennsylvania State Senate on Oct. 17. “We didn’t know from the begin-ning if we could solve it, but we did know that optimization had never been used in a correctional facility before,” said Tamas Terlaky, the former chair of Lehigh’s industrial and systems engineering depart-ment. Terlaky took over from pro-fessors Lou Plebani and George Wilson, who were both present during the algorithm’s creation. After Li obtained her doctorate degree in 2013, doctoral candidate Mohammad Shahabsafa followed in Li’s footsteps. Shahabsafa currently owns the project and has spent the last three and a half years completing the algo-rithm. In the process, Shahabsafa and his colleagues were contend-ers for the Wagner Prize, which is awarded annually by the Institute for Operations for Research and the Management Sciences. The Wagner Prize contenders are nominated through a three-part application. It is one of the most lauded international prizes in opti-mization engineering, and winners have access to the most sought-after engineering positions. “It would be an honor to get the prize…(but) the experience of being a part of the creation of the algorithm is more than enough,” Shahabsafa said, “as I will use the skills in the future that I have used in the process of working on the algorithm.” Graduate students Anshul Sharma and Chatainya Gudapti cre-ated the algorithm’s graphic inter-face that accesses all the inmate information in the Department of Corrections’ system. It then allows the user to assess and recommend inmate assignments based on gen- Courtesy of Tamas Terlaky Tamas Terlaky is the former chair of the industrial and systems engineering department. Terlaky, along with other Lehigh professors and students, partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to develop an algorithm that helps with assigning inmates to See ENGINEERS Page 3 correctional facilities. By JORDAN WOLMAN & JACKSON LIVINGSTONE B&W Staff Armed with gloves, orange vests and trash bags, almost 200 student and community volunteers scoured the South Bethlehem streets Sept. 30. The volunteers collected garbage off the streets throughout the South Side and planted flowers along Third and Fourth streets. The event, Fall South Side Clean Up, was led by Adrienne Washington, the assistant vice president for Community and Regional Affairs at Lehigh, and Missy Hartney, the main street manager for Third and Fourth streets in downtown South Bethlehem. The event, organized by Lehigh’s chapter of the co-ed community ser-vice fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, typically occurs in Bethlehem each spring. This year, a fall event was added as well. Several student groups participat-ed in South Side Clean Up, including Eco-Reps and various Greek chapters. They partnered with the Community Service Office and local organiza-tions like the Southside Art District and Community Action Development Corporation. Volunteers also includ-ed individual members of the Lehigh and Bethlehem communities. Hartney said Lehigh students should feel like South Bethlehem is their home and should take pride in the community. “ C ommun i t y Action was here today, there was a city council mem-ber that was here today, there were kids from Broughal (Middle School),” Washington said. “So it is a larger, broader community event.” Volunteers picked up trash and recyclables throughout the South Side. The garbage was tied up in trash bags and left at street corners for removal. Other groups were dispersed See SOUTH SIDE Page 3 throughout Third and Fourth streets to plant flowers in designated spots to beautify the downtown area. Students worked together with res-idents throughout the event. “Being at Lehigh, I want to enhance South Bethlehem since it surrounds the school,” Brianna Gibson, ’21, said. “I wanted to do some-thing I could be proud of. The work we did today was important, and I got to meet new people while helping out.” M a i r e a d Manning, ’20, said she thinks the clean up is a great way for students to get involved in the com-munity. She said it was a fun way to meet new people and help South Bethlehem residents. “The school and the town rely on each other a lot, so it’s important to give back,” Manning said. For some upperclassmen at Lehigh, cleaning up the Bethlehem community has a personal benefit. Older students often lease houses or apartments on East Fifth Street and Hillside Avenue, which were the same areas assigned to the South Side Clean Up event. “It’s cool to see students helping us out and helping the other residents,” Avery Hogue, ’18, said. “We live here, but it’s also about our neighbors who don’t all go to Lehigh but are affected by the school and the social scene that happens in this area.” Manning said students participat-ing in the clean up encountered as many red solo cups and beer cans as they encountered everyday litter. “We kind of expected it to be hon-est,” Manning said. “Everyone knows what goes on down here at night so it’s gonna leave a lot of trash.” The South Side Clean Up conclud-ed with the launch of the “South Side Pride” campaign. Paul Pierpoint, the recently retired vice president of community educa-tion for Northampton Community “The work we did today was important, and I got to meet new people while helping out. Brianna Gibson Class of 2021 ”
Object Description
Title | Brown and White Vol. 133 no. 9 |
Date | 2017-10-06 |
Month | 10 |
Day | 06 |
Year | 2017 |
Volume | 133 |
Issue | 9 |
Type | Newspaper |
Source Repository | Lehigh University |
Coverage | United States, Pennsylvania, Lehigh, South Bethlehem |
LCCN | 7019854 |
Source Repository Code | LYU |
Digital Responsible Institution | Lehigh University |
Digital Responsible Institution Code | LYU |
Issue/Edition Pattern | Semiweekly |
Title Essay | Published twice a week during the college year by the students of Lehigh University |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Date | 2017-10-06 |
FullText | The Brown and White Vol. 133 No. 9 Friday, October 6, 2017 ‘All the Lehigh News First’ Lehigh engineers create prison algorithm Students volunteer to clean up South Side By MADISON PETERSON-PORTA B&W Staff Lehigh engineering profes-sors and students worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to create an algorithm that saves Pennsylvania taxpayers $3 million per year. The project started five years ago when Dan Li, ’11G, a second-year doctorate student, interned with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Li started the proj-ect after her internship to create a more efficient way of assigning inmates to correctional facilities. The systematic approach takes into account various factors of opti-mization to create an algorithm, which with a few keystrokes and a couple of seconds does the work that used to take seven men one week. Since then, the algorithm has been improved by three professors and four graduate and doctoral stu-dents. The algorithm will be com-pleted in the spring of 2018, though it has been in operation since December 2016 in Pennsylvania’s Camp Hill correctional institution. The algorithm will be recognized by the Pennsylvania State Senate on Oct. 17. “We didn’t know from the begin-ning if we could solve it, but we did know that optimization had never been used in a correctional facility before,” said Tamas Terlaky, the former chair of Lehigh’s industrial and systems engineering depart-ment. Terlaky took over from pro-fessors Lou Plebani and George Wilson, who were both present during the algorithm’s creation. After Li obtained her doctorate degree in 2013, doctoral candidate Mohammad Shahabsafa followed in Li’s footsteps. Shahabsafa currently owns the project and has spent the last three and a half years completing the algo-rithm. In the process, Shahabsafa and his colleagues were contend-ers for the Wagner Prize, which is awarded annually by the Institute for Operations for Research and the Management Sciences. The Wagner Prize contenders are nominated through a three-part application. It is one of the most lauded international prizes in opti-mization engineering, and winners have access to the most sought-after engineering positions. “It would be an honor to get the prize…(but) the experience of being a part of the creation of the algorithm is more than enough,” Shahabsafa said, “as I will use the skills in the future that I have used in the process of working on the algorithm.” Graduate students Anshul Sharma and Chatainya Gudapti cre-ated the algorithm’s graphic inter-face that accesses all the inmate information in the Department of Corrections’ system. It then allows the user to assess and recommend inmate assignments based on gen- Courtesy of Tamas Terlaky Tamas Terlaky is the former chair of the industrial and systems engineering department. Terlaky, along with other Lehigh professors and students, partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to develop an algorithm that helps with assigning inmates to See ENGINEERS Page 3 correctional facilities. By JORDAN WOLMAN & JACKSON LIVINGSTONE B&W Staff Armed with gloves, orange vests and trash bags, almost 200 student and community volunteers scoured the South Bethlehem streets Sept. 30. The volunteers collected garbage off the streets throughout the South Side and planted flowers along Third and Fourth streets. The event, Fall South Side Clean Up, was led by Adrienne Washington, the assistant vice president for Community and Regional Affairs at Lehigh, and Missy Hartney, the main street manager for Third and Fourth streets in downtown South Bethlehem. The event, organized by Lehigh’s chapter of the co-ed community ser-vice fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, typically occurs in Bethlehem each spring. This year, a fall event was added as well. Several student groups participat-ed in South Side Clean Up, including Eco-Reps and various Greek chapters. They partnered with the Community Service Office and local organiza-tions like the Southside Art District and Community Action Development Corporation. Volunteers also includ-ed individual members of the Lehigh and Bethlehem communities. Hartney said Lehigh students should feel like South Bethlehem is their home and should take pride in the community. “ C ommun i t y Action was here today, there was a city council mem-ber that was here today, there were kids from Broughal (Middle School),” Washington said. “So it is a larger, broader community event.” Volunteers picked up trash and recyclables throughout the South Side. The garbage was tied up in trash bags and left at street corners for removal. Other groups were dispersed See SOUTH SIDE Page 3 throughout Third and Fourth streets to plant flowers in designated spots to beautify the downtown area. Students worked together with res-idents throughout the event. “Being at Lehigh, I want to enhance South Bethlehem since it surrounds the school,” Brianna Gibson, ’21, said. “I wanted to do some-thing I could be proud of. The work we did today was important, and I got to meet new people while helping out.” M a i r e a d Manning, ’20, said she thinks the clean up is a great way for students to get involved in the com-munity. She said it was a fun way to meet new people and help South Bethlehem residents. “The school and the town rely on each other a lot, so it’s important to give back,” Manning said. For some upperclassmen at Lehigh, cleaning up the Bethlehem community has a personal benefit. Older students often lease houses or apartments on East Fifth Street and Hillside Avenue, which were the same areas assigned to the South Side Clean Up event. “It’s cool to see students helping us out and helping the other residents,” Avery Hogue, ’18, said. “We live here, but it’s also about our neighbors who don’t all go to Lehigh but are affected by the school and the social scene that happens in this area.” Manning said students participat-ing in the clean up encountered as many red solo cups and beer cans as they encountered everyday litter. “We kind of expected it to be hon-est,” Manning said. “Everyone knows what goes on down here at night so it’s gonna leave a lot of trash.” The South Side Clean Up conclud-ed with the launch of the “South Side Pride” campaign. Paul Pierpoint, the recently retired vice president of community educa-tion for Northampton Community “The work we did today was important, and I got to meet new people while helping out. Brianna Gibson Class of 2021 ” |
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